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EPIC Scale Computer Game
the_fifth_horseman	Post subject: EPIC Scale Computer Game Posted: Mon Mar 08, 2004 8:22 am
Brood Brother Joined: Wed Apr 30, 2003 12:35 pm Posts: 1259	I understand that currently a single "counter" marks a whole detachment. Is it going to be changed at some moment? _________________ The Fifth Horseman. Quality over quantity. Realm of the Horseman ? ?The mirror site.
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netepic	Post subject: EPIC Scale Computer Game Posted: Mon Mar 08, 2004 10:34 am
Brood Brother Joined: Thu Feb 13, 2003 4:26 pm Posts: 7016 Location: Southfields, London, England	Technically it is up to the guy who does the army lists, I guess you could even do one counter = one guy. However, that is how my sample lists are configured . I wanted it to be on a higher scale so it showed off the micromanagement aspects. _________________ Tom Webb Author Page: http://www.newtonwebb.com Twitter: http://twitter.com/thewebb Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/thenewtonwebb Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/thenewtonwebb
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netepic	Post subject: EPIC Scale Computer Game Posted: Mon Mar 08, 2004 10:47 am
Brood Brother Joined: Thu Feb 13, 2003 4:26 pm Posts: 7016 Location: Southfields, London, England	Quote (the_fifth_horseman @ 04 2004 Mar.,13:37) Got the template now. I presume that vehicles also should fit within these limits? Because, IMO, the vehicles should get bigger size, while infantry smaller ones. Maybe make this 4 BMP files, one for Infantry, one for Vehicles, and the two others for Aircraft and War Engines respectively. Oh, and what color palette? 8 or 24 bit? The engine supports multiple source .BMPs but currently it is hardcoded to accept 50x50 tiles, this can be changed but affects the movement. At the moment one move point, equates to one tile, variable sized tiles mean we need to have x number of move points, equaling x number of pixels. We also then have more complicated assault rules :S. Of course with aircraft this is irrellevant as they don't remain on the board. As for the palette it will accept any BMP you give it, so might as well do 24 bit to take advantage of that . _________________ Tom Webb Author Page: http://www.newtonwebb.com Twitter: http://twitter.com/thewebb Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/thenewtonwebb Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/thenewtonwebb
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the_fifth_horseman	Post subject: EPIC Scale Computer Game Posted: Mon Mar 08, 2004 12:26 pm
Brood Brother Joined: Wed Apr 30, 2003 12:35 pm Posts: 1259	Hey, it just came to me that to save space, the game might be programmed to read *.gif and *.jpg files. They are smaller then BMP's. Also PCX's are a good option - almost same size as JPG's but better colors. Just an idea. _________________ The Fifth Horseman. Quality over quantity. Realm of the Horseman ? ?The mirror site.
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netepic	Post subject: EPIC Scale Computer Game Posted: Mon Mar 08, 2004 1:10 pm
Brood Brother Joined: Thu Feb 13, 2003 4:26 pm Posts: 7016 Location: Southfields, London, England	BMP are cleaner images which is very important when I have to use the masking. _________________ Tom Webb Author Page: http://www.newtonwebb.com Twitter: http://twitter.com/thewebb Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/thenewtonwebb Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/thenewtonwebb
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the_fifth_horseman	Post subject: EPIC Scale Computer Game Posted: Mon Mar 08, 2004 1:20 pm
Brood Brother Joined: Wed Apr 30, 2003 12:35 pm Posts: 1259	PCX's are about as clean as BMP's, and size of an average JPG, but with cleaner colors. _________________ The Fifth Horseman. Quality over quantity. Realm of the Horseman ? ?The mirror site.
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netepic	Post subject: EPIC Scale Computer Game Posted: Mon Mar 08, 2004 3:20 pm
Brood Brother Joined: Thu Feb 13, 2003 4:26 pm Posts: 7016 Location: Southfields, London, England	'about' isn't enough unfortunately , the masking uses a process called BitBlt, which takes an exact hexadecimal figure as it's transparency colour, JPGs and other compressed picture formats don't use exact colours, they tend to blend them in, which leads to a jagged border around the graphics at best when you BitBlt them. _________________ Tom Webb Author Page: http://www.newtonwebb.com Twitter: http://twitter.com/thewebb Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/thenewtonwebb Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/thenewtonwebb
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the_fifth_horseman	Post subject: EPIC Scale Computer Game Posted: Tue Mar 09, 2004 8:45 am
Brood Brother Joined: Wed Apr 30, 2003 12:35 pm Posts: 1259	As far as my knowledge is concerned, PCX files are same clarity as BMP's. If you want, I'll check this to be 100 % sure. ith regards to adding new rules... I guess you are going to implement a sort of army list editor feature or a script language specific only to the game for applying the rules, right? The possible script language could have several different types of primary requirements and commands, with instructions what to do. Example might be the following fictional scripts running Necron We'll Be Back, assuming the game uses Wh40k rules (since game rules and stats are adaptable...). Please don't jump at me, cause it's straight of the top of my head and currently I'm less sane then normally. SCR_NAME="We'll be back" IF=UNIT[RACE="NECRONS" ABILITY="NECRON"] DAMAGED IF=STAT[CURRENT WOUNDS>1] END_SCRIPT IF=UNIT[CURRENT_WOUNDS=1] DISABLE_UNIT CHECK=WEAPON[ABILITY="NOSAVE"] RUN_SCRIPT=[NAME=AUTOKILL ARG1=UNIT[TOUGHNESS] ARG2=WEAPON[STR]] IF=[OUT=YES] KILL_UNIT END_SCRIPT IF=[OUT=NO] WAIT=NEXT_TURN RUN_SCRIPT=[NAME=RANDOM ARG1=1 ARG2=6] IF=[OUT<4] KILL_UNIT END_SCRIPT IF=[OUT>3] ENABLE_UNIT END_SCRIPT SCR_NAME=AUTOKILL CALCULATE="ARG1*2-ARG2" IF=[OUT>0] GIVE_OUT=NO END_SCRIPT IF=[OUT=0] GIVE_OUT=YES END_SCRIPT SCR_NAME=RANDOM GENERATE_NUMBER IF=[OUTIF=[OUT>ARG2] REPEAT IF=[ARG1= Might seem complicated at the moment, but when you read close it shows you the general idea. From what do I know, it slightly resembles elements of HTML code in some aspects and Turbo Pascal cooked together with some of my madness added. We have a number of pre-defined functions and scripts that can be ran in respect to weapon and unit stats quite quickly. Another example might be coding Warscythes this way: WEAPON_NAME="Warscythe" WEAPON_STR=UNIT_STR WEAPON_ABILITY=NOSAVE WEAPON_ABILITY=NOINVSAVE WEAPON_ABILITY=MODIFIER[VEHICLEARMORPENETRATION+OUT[RUN_SCRIPT=[NAME=RANDOM ARG1=1 ARG2=6]]] END_WEAPON And so it goes. Another of my crazy ideas would be simply to make sort of plug-ins which can be used to run different game systems on the engine, but that's a bit too far. In general, this would allow the person creating a plug-in to define unit stats, most game rules etc from scratch and then run these in the actual game, making the game itself not much more then an interpreter system. Crazy, I know, but look at the possibilities. You could for example run Battletech, Void or pretty much any game system (BFG anyone?). OK, I got more stupid ideas this time then I ususally get in a week. Will post them anyway for brainstorming, maybe you'll find a good idea or two (but I don't count on it) As for the units, it will prob be that the infantry are drawn in front view, while vehicles go top-down. My proposal for the "plain vanilla race" is Space Marines, for the reason that they are the most popular race of 40k universe AND I already have a load of them done, so it'll be fast and easy. The division is following: Infantry = 2 Tactical Marines Support Infantry = 2 Devastator Marines Elite Infantry = Veterans or Mech. Infantry = Rhino or Tactical Marine and Rhino Armour = Predator Destructor or Predator Annihilator Artillery = Whirlwind or Vindicator Recon Vehicle = Landspeeder or Space Marine Bikers or Space Marine Buggy, kinda Landspeeder on wheels (will have to any of them from beginning, might take a while) Infantry Fighting Vehicle optimised for an anti-personal role = Razorback w/ Heavy Bolters Infantry Fighting Vehicle optimised for an anti-tank role = Razorback w/ Lascannon or Razorback w/ Multi-Melta In some cases I wrote down more then one option, please tell me which one would you prefer. _________________ The Fifth Horseman. Quality over quantity. Realm of the Horseman ? ?The mirror site.
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netepic	Post subject: EPIC Scale Computer Game Posted: Tue Mar 09, 2004 3:54 pm
Brood Brother Joined: Thu Feb 13, 2003 4:26 pm Posts: 7016 Location: Southfields, London, England	Quote (the_fifth_horseman @ 09 2004 Mar.,07:45) The division is following: Infantry = 2 Tactical Marines Support Infantry = 2 Devastator Marines Elite Infantry = Veterans or Mech. Infantry = Rhino or Tactical Marine and Rhino Armour = Predator Destructor or Predator Annihilator Artillery = Whirlwind or Vindicator Recon Vehicle = Landspeeder or Space Marine Bikers or Space Marine Buggy, kinda Landspeeder on wheels (will have to any of them from beginning, might take a while) Infantry Fighting Vehicle optimised for an anti-personal role = Razorback w/ Heavy Bolters Infantry Fighting Vehicle optimised for an anti-tank role = Razorback w/ Lascannon or Razorback w/ Multi-Melta In some cases I wrote down more then one option, please tell me which one would you prefer. We can't use GW units in the army list released with the game unfortunantly due to copyright, I will also place a disclaimer on the software to ensure that we are in no way affiliated with anyone who uses the army list building software to create versions of the games workshop armies . There won't be scripting support (it is beyond my time restraints to create a language with enough complexity), instead I will have a list of eventually around 200 special rules that army list editors can choose from to customise there units. _________________ Tom Webb Author Page: http://www.newtonwebb.com Twitter: http://twitter.com/thewebb Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/thenewtonwebb Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/thenewtonwebb
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the_fifth_horseman	Post subject: EPIC Scale Computer Game Posted: Wed Mar 10, 2004 11:38 am
Brood Brother Joined: Wed Apr 30, 2003 12:35 pm Posts: 1259	Well, since the units are fully customisable, and the game is not a commercial affair AFAIK, the GW should not mind... On the script language thingy, the idea is that it's not exactly a script but a collection of data and commands that the game can interpret, so you have to give just about 50 basic rules that are "built in" in the program, and players can use whole thing to make new rules etc. This is tempting because it takes a lot of responsibility off of your head, as the one who writes an army list will have to think about the special rules himself, and for some people of the "Try harder" type it opens a scope for veeery wide implementation of new rules. Graphic files: The testing performed on Dark Angels Devastator proxy (new type) gave following results: BMP format: Original file. 24-bit. 21 Kbytes. JPG format: No image compression set to have the highest result possible. 24-bit. Blurred and bad colors. High loss of detail. 13 Kbytes. GIF format: Only 256 colors (8 bit). The colors got kinda messed up, but this might be of some use in future (applying camo patterns, for example). 2 Kbytes. PCX format: 24-bit. No distortions, all colors match the original hex. 10 Kbytes. To say my opinion, there is a reason this format is used quite commonly for things like backgrounds in games, screenshots etc. TGA format: 24-bit. No distortions, all colors exactly match the original hex, but no compression either. 21 Kbytes. PNG format: 24-bit. No distortions, all colors match original hex, and the compression level is simply shocking. 2 Kbytes. _________________ The Fifth Horseman. Quality over quantity. Realm of the Horseman ? ?The mirror site.
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netepic	Post subject: EPIC Scale Computer Game Posted: Wed Mar 10, 2004 11:07 pm
Brood Brother Joined: Thu Feb 13, 2003 4:26 pm Posts: 7016 Location: Southfields, London, England	Nuts, the only file formats I can use are .BMP, .JPG, .DIB, .GIF, .ICO, .WMF ones, and a few other obscure and old ones :S. Otherwise PNG sounds good... _________________ Tom Webb Author Page: http://www.newtonwebb.com Twitter: http://twitter.com/thewebb Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/thenewtonwebb Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/thenewtonwebb
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the_fifth_horseman	Post subject: EPIC Scale Computer Game Posted: Thu Mar 11, 2004 10:27 am
Brood Brother Joined: Wed Apr 30, 2003 12:35 pm Posts: 1259	The general rating, IMO is as follows: 1.PNG 2.PCX 3.BMP If PNG does not work, how about PCX? _________________ The Fifth Horseman. Quality over quantity. Realm of the Horseman ? ?The mirror site.
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netepic	Post subject: EPIC Scale Computer Game Posted: Thu Mar 11, 2004 11:15 am
Brood Brother Joined: Thu Feb 13, 2003 4:26 pm Posts: 7016 Location: Southfields, London, England	Fraid not , we are back to the .BMPs :s _________________ Tom Webb Author Page: http://www.newtonwebb.com Twitter: http://twitter.com/thewebb Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/thenewtonwebb Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/thenewtonwebb
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the_fifth_horseman	Post subject: EPIC Scale Computer Game Posted: Thu Mar 11, 2004 11:18 am
Brood Brother Joined: Wed Apr 30, 2003 12:35 pm Posts: 1259	? PCX is the format popularly used by computer games producers, like Blizzard etc. Oh, well... ?   _________________ The Fifth Horseman. Quality over quantity. Realm of the Horseman ? ?The mirror site.
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netepic	Post subject: EPIC Scale Computer Game Posted: Thu Mar 11, 2004 11:24 am
Brood Brother Joined: Thu Feb 13, 2003 4:26 pm Posts: 7016 Location: Southfields, London, England	On a brighter note, should be able to get you a demo for this w/e TFH. It is just one scenario, two armies battling it out until one side recieves 50% casualties. I will probably email a link to it for this sunday. When we get some graphics I will do a report for Incoming! on it _________________ Tom Webb Author Page: http://www.newtonwebb.com Twitter: http://twitter.com/thewebb Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/thenewtonwebb Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/thenewtonwebb
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